Collaboration key to greater connectivity

Mobile World Congress: Mobile manufacturers and operators have accepted they must partner with brands not normally associated with the mobile space to meet the growing consumer demand for connected devices.

A raft of tie-ups between previously unconnected brands were announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week, a shift from previous years when the annual event was dominated by new device launches.

Vodafone and Visa forged a global partnership spanning five continents to launch a mobile wallet service. Vodafone chief executive Vittorio Colao said at the event that the mobile industry needs to co-operate on services to continue to innovate and that Vodafone will “build more strategic partnerships with companies”.

Another partnership showcased at the event was between BlackBerry and car marque Porsche (pictured).

BlackBerry EMEA vice-president of marketing Rory O’Neill told Marketing Week that parent company RIM plans to partner with more companies in the mobileecosystem to provide consumers with “more-connected” experiences. “No provider can make everything, but it’s increasingly difficult to stand out if you focus on great mobile experiences, which is why a large part of what we want to do is built around an open ecosystem,” he says.

Best Buy and eBay also used the congress to discuss details of a joint commerce app.

Best Buy chief executive Brian Dunn said the two companies would continue to work together to provide more services that merge physical and virtual shopping and that Best Buy would look to forge more partnerships to create more “open and inclusive” mobile environments. He added: “It is so critical for brands to stand for ‘access’ in this connected world. It is our responsibility as an industry to work together to continue to change the world for the better.”

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